The work is beautiful and it deserved it! The starting stanza pulls the reader in and while it is free verse, there is a hint of rhyme and rhythm. I would have wanted to say a lot more but ah well it already has a lot of comments that probably say what I wanted to

you grasp that irrelevant minutiae of grief so well. I have no idea what to call that human condition, but it's such a universal thing, and yet we all think we're experiencing "wrong" because of it. with every truly traumatic or heavy moment I've ever experienced, what I remember are the pieces and not the whole.

and the blood/strawberries thing is great too--how everything becomes a symbol against our will.

you should read "abschied symphony" by dorianne laux--it encounters grief in a very similar way, and your poem reminded me of hers. (which is a compliment as she's my favorite poet.)

Thank-you, you're very sweet! And I will definitely read her poem, by the way. And that mystery of sorrow, that deep ambiguity of how to deal with a sudden absence, it fuels our curiosity, and isn't tangible which is the worst part of it. I guess being inarticulate when you get that condition, one that every one of us gets at one point at another, is predicted, but painful. Okay, I just spewed my guts out on this topic, which I'm not even sure I explained well, so I'm just going to stop talking about humanity's morals and death.

that's why we have poetry though--to help us explain the things we can't explain well any other way. (an old teacher of mine said "poetry is for saying things that are impossible to say.") and yours did a great job of it. = )

Absolutely GORGEOUS imagery! You have a real talent with words! We do all deal with grief differently, but to compare that realization with a cold breakfast is just so painfully lovely. All the senses evoked here are so powerful...it is a superbly written poem overall. I wish more pieces like this could get out there - there is such an apathy toward poetry in general that I am always so sad to see. But if more people saw the beauty in the words as they are presented here - so beautiful yet dealing with a subject so fragile and so often pushed aside - I truly believe that they would appreciate it with whole new eyes!

Congratulations for the very well deserved DD! I cannot wait to read more of your work!

It captured the unimaginable juxtaposition between the very descriptive, very normal human actions of an old lady and the thing you are trying to imagine her seeing. I can see exactly how she looks squinting, which makes the contrast all the more powerful.

An incredible poem, overall. You dealt with so many tensions so flawlessly.